Drowning in you
by MissKluck
Summary: After a mission team 7 is ambushed and things don't go as planned. For day 13 of SSmonth. SasuSaku.


Can you believe it? I'm actually on time today! Well I've been looking forward to this day for a long time though, just hope it turned out as great as it was in my head!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

**Drowning in you**

It had started out as a normal mission with team 7, one of the first real ones after the war, with Sasuke and Naruto escorting Sakura on a medical mission out of the fire country. They had been together with another team consisting of two other medics and three other shinobi, but it was still Sakura who ended up healing most of the villagers and so was a little low on chakra already when they started on their home trip. Team 7 were already being called the new Sannins, all teammates having surpassed their masters. They had also been the ones to set out first, Naruto eager to get home despite the fact that he knew Sakura was still tired, but he assured her that he would be there to protect no matter what. Sasuke, of course, was a little more skeptical to it, but Sakura, not wanting to be dead weight, said she would be okay.

Half way on their way back to Fire Country, the attack happened. At least thirty shinobi or so came out from their surroundings and attacked them. They knew this though, having already sensed the ninjas, but what they hadn't expected was how strong the shinobi were. They had already been parted from the ones they'd been traveling with previously, and now it looked like they might have to slit up even more.

"Sasuke-teme!" Naruto called out, taking out some shinobi with his rasengan. "They just keep on coming and we're not that far from the border! Take Sakura-chan and go there, get some help and take Sakura-chan to safety!"

Sakura wanted to protest, to insist upon her being completely fine, but she knew that was not true. She was now running dangerously low on chakra to still be fighting, and as a medic she knew she should follow Naruto's orders. Besides, he was almost hokage now, she wouldn't want to anger her future boss now would she? This was merely an excuse and she knew it, but they still ended up splitting up. Sakura ran at the front with Sasuke at the back to protect and look for enemy shinobi. They had just come out on a bridge with shinobi chasing them when there appeared more shinobi in front of them as well.

"Dang it," she murmured, faintly catching up on Sasuke cursing under his breath as well. It wasn't that there were too many for them, it was more that Sakura, being already low on chakra, was a weak point and could easily be used against Sasuke if she wasn't careful. She guessed it didn't matter too much though. Both she and Sasuke seemed to have a silent agreement to talk as little as possible. Okay, maybe she was exaggerating it a little since they didn't have too much time besides their own training, her work at the hospital and his way towards ANBU, but they still were the tensest towards each other of all of team 7. At least of the original team, but it wasn't exactly unnatural that the replacement and the original would evade each other.

The enemy attacked, Sakura and Sasuke doing their best to fight them off. Sakura noticed that she had a hard time concentrating though, eyes feeling heavy and pulse being unnaturally high as she fought. Still, she managed to keep the enemy at bay. She cast a quick glance at Sasuke, checking up on how he was doing. Of course he didn't have any trouble like she seemed to have, rather it seemed almost like he could be dancing with those movements, easily evading the shinobi coming left and right while still fighting and staying on the bridge.

Sakura turned around a little too late, ducking to evade one of the shinobi. This, however, gave him straight access to Sasuke's back and with so many shinobi already attacking Sasuke and Sakura worrying, she acted on instinct despite her weariness and low chakra. Pumping chakra into her feet the girl rushed forward, just barely managing to get in front of the shinobi before he reached Sasuke. This meant that she was not at all prepared from the hit the shinobi came rushing with.

He hit her hard in the stomach, the impact alone breaking a few ribs, as Sakura was sent straight into the wall of the bridge, hitting her head hard in the process. The wall cracked behind her because of the impact and in the next moment Sakura found herself flying through the wall and into the water below them. Her body was already shutting down, mind blackening out and just barely allowing her to hear one last call of her name from a terrified Uchiha before she subcommed to the ever growing darkness.

Sasuke had been too busy fighting off the people coming from the front to care much for his back. It was mostly because he knew that Sakura was watching his back, but he still didn't think she would go that far in order to protect him. She could have just called out his name, shouted out a warning or something, but no, the stupid girl just had to throw herself in front of him, just had to try and get herself killed. And to Sasuke's horror it was a very good attempt too. He could do nothing but watch as she was slammed through the wall of the bridge and over the ledge, eyes already closed with a bleeding wound on her head.

And at that moment Sasuke felt completely helpless. He screamed out her name, wanting to rush forward, throw himself off the ledge after her, but he couldn't because between him and the ledge there was now over twenty shinobi ready to battle him. Sasuke felt desperation take hold of him as he didn't want to watch another precious person get killed, he couldn't. And so, without thinking, he activated his mangekyo and attacked. He too was starting to run low on chakra, if not he would have called forth susanoo already, but right now he couldn't risk it. The longer Sakura was in the water the worse it got.

Sasuke was already pretty sure that Sakura was unconscious, she had to be after taking a hit like that. And so he sped up his actions even more, fighting against the clock to just get an opening so the he could jump in after her and save her. It seemed like time dragged on, Sasuke's actions getting more and more frantic, desperate as he realized he might not be in time to save her. But what would he do without her? Guilt over not speaking to her and not squaring up with her before it was too late ate at him. As a final, drastic action Sasuke sent Amaterasu at his opponents, not caring if it hit or not as it made the opening he had been looking for.

Without thinking Sasuke jumped up on the ledge, eyes frantically searching for something pink and red. When he found none his heartbeat sped up even more as he looked upstream and downstream, and finally he just threw himself into the water, not caring if he landed wrong or not. Just as long as he could find Sakura before she- He didn't even want to finish the thought. He didn't want to believe that he yet again was too weak, even as one of the mightiest shinobi he was still too weak it seemed.

As soon as he broke the surface he was swimming around searching for her. His sharingan spinning wildly as he tried to pick up on a chakra he couldn't find. It hadn't gone more than half a minute since Sakura fell, but to Sasuke it has already way too long. She couldn't drown, not on his watch! Something glistened over to one side and Sasuke saw a silver plate reflecting light from the sun. He couldn't remember a time he had felt more relieved to see the Konohagakure symbol.

Sasuke swam over to the limp body of Sakura Haruno, pulling her with him as he swam to the surface. Although he was starting to feel really tired he still let her break the surface first, doing everything he could so that it wouldn't be too late. They were in the middle of a large river, tall walls of stone on both sides, and Sasuke knew time was already up. He swam to the closest stonewall, pumping chakra into his feet as he started to run up the wall.

Sakura had to hold on a little longer, just a little longer. He didn't even care to look back to the bridge as he ran, for all he cared the men could all burn up as long as Sakura survived. The next moment Sasuke was on solid ground, running into the forest to put some distance between him and the enemy shinobi. He then crouched down, still carefully carrying the cold body of his teammate in his arms. As gently as he could he put her down, checking for a pulse he couldn't find.

His sharingan was still activated, wildly searching the girl for any signs of life, but he found none. To his great dismay Sasuke knew neither CPR nor medical ninjutsu. He could only cradle the girl up in his arms again, clutching her to him as he hoped to keep her warm, to somehow keep her alive even though he knew it was already too late to do anything. Tears started leaking out, mixing up with the blood from his mangekyo.

"Sakura," he mumbled out, still clutching her to him. "Why do you have to be so stupid?! I can perfectly fine watch my back, dang it! You were low on chakra, you shouldn't even think about such things! You're the medic here, aren't you?! And you shouldn't do such things for a boy who has been afraid of facing you since the war ended! I don't deserve your protection! You-you should have just let me take the hit instead! I swore to never let anyone precious to me ever die in front of me again and yet you throw yourself in front of me! How am I supposed to protect you if you won't let me?!"

"Sakura! Please! Just open your eyes! I-I'm not good with words, you should know that, but I still didn't want you to die for me! Dang it Sakura! Just wake up again! Just open those stupid, beautiful orbs of yours! Hit me for not being able to save you from drowning! Or for avoiding you when I should have manned up and talked to you! Anything! Just please, open your eyes again!" Sasuke buried his head in Sakura's chest, still holding her to him. He had failed again…

Or… Had he? A low, slow beat just underneath him was heard, repeating itself after a moment. But Sasuke was too caught up in beating himself up over his failure to register it. The beat came again and again, slowly getting stronger with each beat. It had been there all along, just painfully weak and difficult to hear. And as a minute passed by, Sakura started to regain consciousness again, fighting her way out of the darkness.

Rustling was suddenly heard as Naruto Uzumaki came rushing out of some bushes. "Sasuke-teme! What-" He stopped up, eyes growing wide at the sight in front of him. "Sasuke! What has happened!"

A teary-eyed Sasuke lifted his head a little, glancing at him before looking down at the girl in his arms again. "I-I was too late," he croaked out. "And Sakura, she-" Sasuke was interrupted as the girl in his arms groaned, eyes starting to glimmer. After a moment the pink haired girl's green eyed opened, looking disoriented, but directly into pools of black.

"Uh.. what happened? I-" Sakura started, but was quickly silenced as desperate, yearning lips came crashing down on her own. Sasuke missed a little, noses awkwardly bumping on the way, but the kiss was filled with so much love and emotion that it more than made up for it. And to say that Sakura was shocked was an understatement. Her cheeks flushed pink, eyes growing wide with disbelief and wonder as the boy she had loved for so long was kissing her. And then it hit her, she had to be in heaven because no other place would Sasuke have done that. The last time she checked Sasuke had been ignoring her, doing all means to avoid seeing her so clearly this had to be the afterlife.

The heated kiss was soon over, leaving them both breathless, though Sakura more so than Sasuke. She gasped for air, throat still raw after breathing in water. Sasuke still hugged her, as if afraid that if he let go then Sakura would drown again. After another moment of collecting herself, Sakura gazed at the boy again, slightly pulling away from him. She had to be in heaven because where else would she see a teary and red eyed Sasuke staring at her with such an intense gaze, cheeks actually blushing red. Looking around, she saw Naruto too, tears still streaming down his cheeks as he grinned widely.

"I-" Sakura gulped, not wanting to say it out loud and actually face the facts. "I'm dead, aren't I? I drowned, didn't I?" She looked away sadly, tears starting to pool in her eyes too as she realized just what it meant. She'd never get to see her friends again, her teammates, her sensei, her family, her love. She'd never get to square things up again with Sasuke, to explain to him how she still loved him and how she would never have a chance to explain it all to him.

"Sakura-chan, what are you talking about?" Naruto broke into her thoughts, bringing her back to reality with a worried look. "Sasuke-teme saved you! You're not dead Sakura-chan! None of us are!" He came closer to them, glancing at Sasuke to see his reaction.

Sakura shook her head. "No, you're lying. I-I have to be dead! I can't be alive anymore! If so then why would Sasuke care? Why would he kiss me? He's been avoiding me for so long! He probably hates me and can't stand the sight of me after I tried to kill him and-mph!" Sasuke caught Sakura's lips again, having no idea what else to do in order to try and prove this was not a dream.

"Hn, annoying," he muttered against her lips, relishing in the fact that she was still there with him. Even if she thought it was a dream she was still there, alive, heart beating and not limp in his arms like she had been just minutes before. Right then he wanted nothing more than to stay with her, to feel the touch of her lips against his own, draw his hands through her soft, pink locks, hold her close and-

"Uh, guys, I'm still here y'know," Naruto interrupted, standing right behind Sakura. Both teens opened their eyes again, Sakura drawing a little away from Sasuke in embarrassment as they both panted, cheeks red. "Hahah, guess teme ain't as emotionless as he pretends to be! Ho ho, wait until I tell Kakashi-sensei this! How you guys couldn't keep your hands to yourself and-" Sakura knocked his feet from under him, slamming him to the ground hard. She glared slightly at Naruto, raising a knitted fist as Sasuke smirked right behind her. "Eheheh, don't worry about me, Sakura-chan! I won't tell!"

Sakura sent him a last glare before she turned to Sasuke again, finding her almost nose to nose with him. She blushed again, looking away embarrassed. "So, it's not heaven then? I'm not dead?" Sasuke shook his head. "But how, why would you kiss me? I mean, I thought you hated me and didn't want anything to do with me. Not that we've had that much time to talk, but still I-"

Sasuke cupped Sakura's cheeks, lightly brushing her tears away with his thumb. "Do I need to kiss you again?" He asked, a smirk still playing on his lips, though his ears where still red.

"I, uh," Sakura still blushed. "Only if you want to." Then remembering their teammate who was still watching them, smiling gleefully, Sakura continued, "I think we should take it another time, at least if we want to be able to walk into Konoha again without being ambushed by fangirls or Ino." She rose to her feet, Sasuke gently helping her up as she was still a little unsteady. At her feet again Sakura quickly pecked Sasuke's lips, "thank you for saving me, Sasuke-kun." She muttered, still blushing.

"Aa."


End file.
